Elisabeth Clay on balancing pregnancy, motherhood and winning the Pans
Written by Vicky Beckett, Wednesday 20 November 2024
Elisabeth Clay won double gold at the Pan IBJJF Championships two months after having a baby, two weight classes above her normal category – and would do it all again.
“I would do the exact same thing if I had a second baby,” she says. “Hopefully it won’t be for several years as I don’t want to take that long off competition again soon.”
Among her many career highlights, Elisabeth notably won the ADCC trials when she was 16 and made it through to the finals her first year as a black belt at the IBJJF Gi Worlds. With a reputation for aggressive submission offense and an aggressive approach in competition, Clay normally competes at around 145lbs (66kg) and has previously won against the likes of Brianna Ste-Marie, Ffion Davies and Amy Campo.
In this year’s Pans, Elisabeth took the win via outside heel hook in under four minutes against her opponent Maria Ruffatto.
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